Making Sense In Fantasy Football After 49ers Take Kaelon Black and De'Zhaun Stribling
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Unest, 49ers' picks were head scratchers, single-QB dynasty mock draft and Jauan Jennings landing spots.
We all have that one individual in our fantasy leagues who ignores ADP to “go get their guys.”
It’s a fun, commendable mission … even if it requires a level of hubris that you are smarter than everyone else in the room.
But this archetype isn’t just limited to fantasy football, it occurs in the NFL as well. And that entity in this case is the San Francisco 49ers.
The Niners shocked everyone during the 2026 NFL Draft when they said “screw consensus big board/mock draft data” and selected two players wildly ahead of their projected draft capital:
- De’Zhaun Stribling (WR, Ole Miss) - Consensus: ~85 | Actual: 33
- Kaelon Black (RB, Indiana) - Consensus: ~180 | Actual: 90
Both of these were significant reaches by basically any metric, but the Black pick was especially bizarre considering he wasn’t even invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and was largely considered a UDFA-caliber player.
We can debate just how drunk this front office likes to get on Draft weekend as long as we want, but ultimately we have to figure out what it means for fantasy.
Re: Stribling. Because this draft class is so weak, Stribling’s draft capital thrusts him into Dwain’s Top 12 overall rookie rankings, but the track record for WRs with a huge delta between their Rookie Super Model Rating and draft capital rank is downright scary. Ultimately, Stribling profiles as the Jauan Jennings replacement (Jennings is visiting with the Vikings, btw) thanks to his strong blocking profile. He’s a fine selection in dynasty drafts, but likely to be a non-factor in redraft.
Re: Black. Black is even trickier to parse. If—and it’s a big if—he’s the true No. 2 behind CMC, that’s an incredibly valuable role to have. We know that any back thrust into a starter’s role in San Fran can cook, but there’s no guarantee he can even beat out Jordan James for that gig. When you factor in his weak profile and this front office’s dogshit track record evaluating RBs in the draft, he’s likely two injuries away from a meaningful role.
All that said, it’s pretty clear that the Niners love these guys. We’ll keep our ears to the ground and if they are making noise, we should be willing to adjust our pre-draft priors.
And by priors, I mean not knowing that these guys even existed.
Time to Buy Jeremiyah Love Making The NFL Leap
Few things are as breathtaking and fun to watch as Jeremiyah Love hurdling over defenders during his Notre Dame days. Many of those jumps set him loose on long runs on the way to amassing 3,016 scrimmage yards and 40 TDs for this multi-talented weapon who is taking his talents to Arizona. He’s not yet 21, and appears to have as bright an NFL future as any of the players just drafted. Now it’s time for forward-thinking fantasy managers to act when Love’s available in fantasy drafts in the months ahead.
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1-QB Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft: Who’s No. 2?
We love Love—as in Jeremiyah Love—at the top of dynasty rookie drafts. But what happens when the lottery winner at the top of your league’s draft takes the multi-talented RB who landed in Arizona via South Bend? There’s that talented trio of WRs taken in Round 1 to consider. Hmmm. One thing is for certain, it being single-QB, the urgency to take Fernando Mendoza is not as much. At least not like in this superflex mock draft. Quarterback is exactly where the marked difference occurs between the two dynasty formats.
Sam Wallace and Jake Trowbridge dove back in the mock waters and traded off picks in a first-round dynasty mock draft. They even talk through the inflection point in that first round when fantasy managers are likely to look to trade down.⤵️
Jauan Jennings Free Agent Landing Spots
Now that the draft is over, NFL teams can look at their depth charts to determine at which positions they could still use more players. The Vikings appear set with their WR duo of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, but beyond that the WR room is several unknowns.
A solid WR3 like Jauan Jennings could fortify that group, as news came out that the former 49er is visiting Minneapolis. Joe Metz broke down three landing spots, including the Twin Cities, Miami and Washington D.C. All three teams have openings, though the number of targets that Jennings could receive varies by destination. ⬇️
Around the Watercooler
Our merry band of football nerds is back and bringing you the latest news, content and memes from the NFL universe …
🤫 Great news for this forgotten RB. He’s one of my favorite sleepers right now.
👀 It’s a rookie rankings battle. An 11-spot difference on Jordyn Tyson.
💯 Carnell Tate has a 100 in draft capital rating in the Rookie Super Model. Does that make him WR1 among rookies?
🌽 The Chiefs got their guy at RB … again? Sounds like it.
🤔 There’s a chance Jadarian Price is the Seahawks’ RB1 all season. How high would you rank him?
🤢 The Broncos backfield is going to be an absolute mess. See what I’m saying?
🤯 The largest fantasy football tournament ever?! 3rd place becomes a millionaire!
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